Tooth brush



w. H. DOYLE Jan. 5, 1937.

TOOTH BRUSH Filed April 2'7, 1935 4M ATTORNEY.

Patented 5," 1-937 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIcE'.

'roo'm nausn William H. Doyle, white Plains. N. 2.

Application April 2-2, 1935,, Serial No. lac-:1- 40mm. (01. 15-167) This invention relates to tooth brushes and is herein shown as embodied in a head of a novel shape which may be adapted to be removably attached to a suitable handle.

I According. to the present invention the brush head is curved on the side which faces the teeth or gums so that the ends of the bristles form segments of circles around the axis of the brush handle, or nearly around that axis.

1. The segments of the circles of the brush bristle ends are shown as.extending along arcs of less than a semicircle around the axis, thus leaving the back of the bristle-carrying surface smooth so that it cannot irritate the mouth or gums or II ton e.

The ends of the bristles are shown as lying along longitudinal curves in planes passing through the same axis, or passing almost through the axis, so that they fit the faces of adjacent fl teeth. 7

when the handle of the brush is rotated against teeth in the mouth, the successive tufts of bristles in any segment sweep uniformly over the tooth they face and thus are all effective almost equally as in cleaning the tooth against which they bear, but adjacent segments are set in such planes that .they bear no more heavily against the adjacent teeth, or bear less heavily against them, thus insuring that the central row of bristles is highly 80 effective. I

The surfaces of the brush body which carry the bristlm are preferably curved parallel to the ends of the bristles, with the result that the bristles do not need to be trimmed to different lengths as in the different tufts, but the tufts may all be of the most effective length.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanyin drawing: 40 Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of brush.

Figure 2 is a section of the brush on the line 2-2 of Figure 3.

Figure 31s a face view of the brush head omittilting bristles and showing the handle connection.

A Figure 4 is a side view of a brush according to Figure 3 with part of the head broken away.

Figure 5 is a front view of an alternative form. Figure 6 is a side view of the brush of Figure 5. 50 Figure '7 is a front view of another alternative form.

' Figure 8 is a side view of the brush of Figure '1. Figure 9 is a front view of another modification. Figure 10 is a side view of the brush of Figure 9.

56 The handle 20, which may be of any desired form, is shown as attachable to any form of brush head shown, by the threaded end 2| which screws into a socket, 22, see Figure 4. The head 2I,showninFigures1to 4,isasegmentofa sphere, which will often be satisfactory if inch 5 in diameter, cut down to leave a 90 face 24, and the segment being mostly cut away at 25, so as to leave a fairly fiat, slightly rounded back 26, rounded at its edges.

In the form shown, believed to be the preferred 10 form, the head 23 carries three rows of bristle tufts 21 approximately equally spaced in rows, each row lying in a radial plane and having its center-on the axis of the handle 20. The handle is threaded so it projects radially from the. center 16 of the sphere from which the segment head 23 was cut and is removable. As seen in Figure 4; the six tufts 21 of bristles of each row project almost radially from the surface of the head 23.

The brush is preferably used by rotating apgo proximately around the handle axis about 90 as indicated in Figure 2. The brush shown, when thus used, effectively cleans the teeth without irritating the tissues of the mouth, because the nearly flat back 26 slips smoothly over the tissues.

The bristles are shown as covering a zone of not more than about 90 of the periphery of the brush around the handle to avoid carrying bristles against the more sensitive tissues of the mouth. The tufts shown are of an inch long from the 30 brush head face to the base of the slanting end of the tufts and the slanting faces 28 of the tufts are shown inch on a face.

'I'hebrushhead29shownin1 'igures5 ancl6is similar to the brush of Figure 1, except that the segment has become substantially a whole hemisphere, shown as flattened at 30 to receive the handle 20, and having no bristle tuft at the opposite end or pole, but carries three rows of nearly radial bristle tufts, six tufts in a row, and 40 one row of flvetufts, and one row of three tufts, all tufts of each row lying in a single axial plane, between the handle and the opposite pole. The tufts of each row lie in a single radial plane. The back 3| of the head 29 is flattened, though somewhat rounded, like the back 26.

The brush head 32 shown in Figures '7 and 8 is nearly a segment of a sphere adjacent we screwed-in handle 20, but tapers off to what is approximately a cone, witlrnearly radial tufts 21 of bristles" in radial planes, six tufts in each of three planes, and, one, two, three, four and five tufts in the other respective planes.

The brush head 33 shown in Figures 9 and 10 is substantially an oval with six nearly radial 56 tufts of bristles in each of four radial planes ilve tufts in the next two radial plans, and four and three tufts in the last two planes respectively.

Having thus described certain embodiments of the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A tooth brush having a handle and a detachable head in the form of a segment of a sphere including a substantially spherical front surface and a flattened back, and several rows of bristle tufts set in rows upon the front surface so that all the tufts of a row lie in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the handle and the bristle tufts form segments of circles around the axis of the handle.

2. A tooth brush having a handle and a head in the form of a segment of a sphere including a substantially spherical front surface, and a tapered extension of the front surface and a flattened back for the whole head, and several rows of bristle tufts set in rows upon the front surface so that all the tufts of a row lie in a plane perpendiculartotheaxlsofthehandle andthe bristle tufts form segments of circles around the axis of the handle. 4

3. A tooth brush having a detachable handle andaheadintheformofasegmentofasphere including a substantially spherical front surface and a tapered extension of the front surface, and a flattened back for the whole head. and several rows of bristle tufts set in rows upon the front surfacesothatallthetuftsofarowlieina plane perpendicular to the axis of the handle and the bristle tufts form segments of circles around the axis of the handle.

4. A tooth brush having a handle, a detachable head at least a portion of which includes a front surface in the form of a segment of a where and a flattened back, and several rows of bristle tufts set in rows upon such spherical portion of the front surface so that all of the tufts of a row lie lnaplaneperpendlculartotheaxisofthehandle and the bristles form segments of circles around it the axis of thehandle.

I WILLIAM 8. porn. 

